Jackie Cooper

Rest in Peace, Jackie Cooper.


I can't comment further, have little knowledge.

I watched the guy my whole life. He was in Our Gang Comedies, Treasure Island,The Champ, TV series (The People's Choice, Hennesy), directed episodes of M*A*S*H*, played Perry White in Superman -

So like duh to me. I'm a girl and I'm older than you, nah, nah, nah. Ok, by about a year.

Not many surviving members left of the Our Gang actors.



This site has a "where are they now" listing of them.

http://www.picking.com/og-bios.html

I liked his TV show, Hennesy. In it, he played a Navy Doctor. I remember it as an intelligent comedy. One episode featured Bobby Darin singing about Mack the Knife.

I met Mathew Beard (Stymie) in the early '70's. He was a very gentle soul and could play a mean jazz bass. He, Frank Rehak and Art Pepper had a jazz trio going for awhile that I loved to listen to.

I used to go to the Saturday matine, where they showed Rascals, Stooges, cowboy movies and the like. I could, then, name almost all of them.

Yup, I liked the guy.

Thanks for posting Edgar.

I watched Treasure Island not too long ago. Cooper and Wallace Beery had a real chemistry together (that was their second and last movie pairing, after The Champ). It's a credit to Cooper that he was more than a match for Beery, who was, at the time, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood (and the highest paid actor at MGM -- he had that in his contract). That said, Cooper wasn't the most natural of child actors -- some of his line readings are rather forced, and the story about the director threatening to shoot his dog in order to get him to cry in The Champ sounds about right, even if it may be apocryphal. He wasn't in the same league as Freddie Bartholomew or Mickey Rooney, two of his contemporaries who were also at MGM, but he had an undeniable charm and charisma that could carry a picture.


An MGM publicity photo (circa 1935)
left to right: Freddie Bartholomew, Peggy Ryan, Mickey Rooney, Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland, Jackie Cooper

Ryan and Durbin both left for Universal when it became clear there wasn't enough room for both them and Judy Garland at MGM. Ryan stayed in mostly B-pictures. Durbin became a big star, but abandoned Hollywood at the top of her career in 1948. Garland we all know about. Like many child stars, Bartholomew's career fizzled when he reached adolescence. Rooney and Cooper both had lulls as they transitioned to adulthood. Cooper ended up as the most lastingly successful of the bunch, having a strong second-act as a director and character actor in the 1970s and '80s. Of the group pictured, only Rooney and Durbin are still alive.

Mickey Rooney is my favorite childhood actor and he remained good in many of his films during adulthood. I didn't care for the Andy Hardy series much, but that was the studio's project. I'm guessing they picked most of his roles for him.

Recently Rooney made statements before Congress about senior abuse where his younger relatives (his sonss or daughters) took over his finances or something forcing him into some unpleasant situations and losing control.

I think Deanna Durbin left as she wanted to be in non-musical flicks just like Julie Andrews. At that period of time they refused never thinking she wou;ld quit. After that Julie, another singing sensation, was able to star in non-musicals.